Xmas Fruit Cake

X for Xmas cake!! I didn't think of other options from X.Now don't start thinking that how can a cake fit into Kerala recipes. The christian communities in Kerala are very good cake bakers. The cake that I am presenting below is baked by every christian in their home at Christmas time. From christians this recipe has passed on and now most of the malayalees who are interested in baking do bake this cake. You will also get this fruit cake or plum cake or christmas cake in every other bakery in kerala during christmas time.

For this recipe I tried taking some step by step pictures. I found it very difficult to take step by step pictures while simultaneously preparing the cake. My main problem was my hand was not clean because of which i couldn't hold the camera. I guess we need an assistant with us all the time :). Wonder how the others manage it. 

I have tried this cake recipe around 3-4 times, mostly during christmas times. This time I made it specifically for the blogging marathon and it came out perfect! I was happy with the outcome. I got the initial recipe from my MIL and over time I have also adapted some steps after reading a couple of blog posts. 

Ingredients:

For Soaking:
Mixed fruits - 3 cups
Rum/Brandy - 1.5 cups

For Caramel:
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Warm water - ¼ cup

For Cake:
Plain flour (maida) - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1¼ tsp
Baking soda - ½ tsp
Sugar - 1 cup+ 2 tbsp
Unsalted Butter - 250 gms (1 cup + 2 tbsp, approx) @ room temp
Eggs - 4 @ room temp
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

For Spice Powder:
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - a small piece
Nutmeg - a small piece

Method:

• Soak the dry fruits in brandy / rum. I used a combination of tutti-fruity, plums, cashews, raisins, badam, apricot, orange and lemon peel. I soaked this for about 4 hours.
• Grind all the spices listed under "For Spice Powder" with a pinch of sugar, to a fine powder & keep it  aside.
• Sift the plain flour with baking powder & baking soda. Powder the sugar & keep aside. 
• Separate the yolks & white of the eggs. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Keep aside.

• Heat 3 tbsp of sugar in a thick bottomed kadai. Don't add water, let the sugar melt in the heat. When the color of the melted sugar becomes dark brown, remove the kadai from fire & add ¼ cup warm water to this. Bring it back to the heat & boil for a few more mins, 1-2 mins. Remove from fire & let it cool completely
• Preheat the oven @ 180 C for 15 mins, before baking.
• Drain the soaked fruits & keep aside. Retain 4 tbsp from the drained liquor. Toss the drained fruits in 1-2 tbsp of flour. (This will prevent the fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake). 
• Beat butter and sugar for about 10 minutes until the butter turns fluffy. Now add the egg yolks one by one and beat for another 5 minutes.

• When it becomes smooth add vanilla essence & cooled caramel & spice powder & beat again. 
• Add the sifted flour in 2 batches. Beat after each addition.
• Fold in the beaten egg whites in 2 parts & combine till no white streaks are visible. Fold in the soaked fruits & 4 tbsp of retained liquor. 
• Grease the baking dish & line with baking paper. Pour the batter into the prepared tins. Bake in the pre heated oven for 40-45 mins or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. 

Notes: 

• You need to be very careful while making caramel since the water tends to splash & can cause burns. The caramel can be made earlier and refrigerated.
• The baking time can vary depending on the oven & also the size of the tin used.
• There is also an alcohol free version and an egg free version available. Since I haven't tried I can't comment on it.

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